LIBYA: Children's Rights in UN Treaty Body Reports

Summary: This report extracts mentions of children's rights issues in the reports of all UN Treaty Bodies and their follow-up procedures. This does not include the Concluding Observations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child which are available here: http://www.crin.org/resources/treaties/index.asp

Please note that the language may have been edited in places for the purpose of clarity.

• UN Human Rights Committee
• UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
• UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
• UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
• UN Committee against Torture
• UN Committee on Migrant Workers
• UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
• UN Committee on Enforced Disappearence

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UN Human Rights Committee

(CCPR/C/LBY/CO/4)

Last Reported: 17 and 18 October 2007
Concluding Observations adopted: 30 October 2007

Concerns Raised:

• Children born out of wedlock: While the Committee notes the legal non-discrimination provisions with regard to children born out of wedlock, it remains concerned that, in practice, there are reports of widespread discrimination against them. The Committee is also concerned about reports that children whose mothers are married to non-Libyan nationals were not admitted to school in September 2007 (arts. 24 and 26).

  The Committee urges the State party to:

  (a) Provide information on its strategies and social policies to overcome prejudices within society in order to ensure non- discrimination against children born out of wedlock and children whose mothers are married to non-Libyan nationals, in law and in practice. (Paragraph 27)

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UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

(E/C.12/LYB/CO/2)

Last Reported: 16 and 17 November 2005
Concluding Observations adopted: 25 November 2005

Concerns Raised

• Human rights education: The Committee regrets that the State party did not provide sufficient information on measures adopted to introduce human rights education in schools' curricula, at primary and secondary levels, and to disseminate the text of the Covenant to the public at large.

  The Committee urges the State party to:

  (a) Adopt concrete measures to ensure that human rights education is included in educational curriculum at all levels of education, and that information on human rights is disseminated effectively amongst the population. (Paragraphs 20 and 38)

  Language: The Committee expresses deep concern about domestic law prohibiting the use of languages other than Arabic in many fields, or the registration of non-Arabic names for newborn children.

  The Committee urges the State party to:

  (a) Abolish Law 24 of 1991 as well as the Names Correction Committee.

  (b) Ensure the full respect of every person to use his or her own language, in private and in public, orally and in writing, freely and without interference or any form of discrimination.

  (c) Recognise the right of every person to use his or her surname and first names in his or her own language. (Paragraphs 24 and 42)

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UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

(CERD/C/64/CO/4)

Last Reported: 2 and 3 March 2004
Concluding Observations adopted: 11 March 2004

Concerns Raised

• Education: The Committee takes note of the reportedly insufficient human rights education programmes in school curricula, in particular regarding the promotion of tolerance and respect for religious and ethnic minorities.

  The Committee encourages the State party to:

  (a) Strengthen its efforts in this area, and to submit detailed information on this issue in its next periodic report. (Paragraph 17)

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UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women

(CEDAW/C/LBY/CO/5)

Last Reported: 29 January 2009

Concerns Raised

• Discriminatory laws: While welcoming the pledge by the State party's delegation that Law No. 18 of 1980 on the provisions of the nationality law will be amended in order to comply with article 9 of the Convention, the Committee remains concerned that Libyan women married to non-Libyan nationals are not granted equal rights with men with respect to the nationality of their children. The Committee is further concerned at the legislation governing child custody whereby women are not permitted to travel abroad with their children without the consent of the children's father. The Committee expresses concern that legal provisions relating to personal status, in particular concerning marriage (including polygamy), divorce and inheritance, do not provide for equal rights for women and men.

  The Committee calls on the State party to:

  (a) Accelerate the process of amendment of Law No. 18 of 1980 to make it consistent with article 9 of the Convention.

  (b) Intensify its efforts to amend its legislation governing child custody expeditiously, in order to ensure that women have the same right as men to travel with their children abroad.

  (c) Introduce legislative reforms to provide women with equal rights in marriage, divorce and inheritance.

  (d) End the practice of polygamy in accordance with the Committee's general recommendation No. 21, on equality in marriage and family relations. (Paragraphs 17 and 18)

• Violence against women: The Committee is concerned that the State party has not yet adopted comprehensive legislation to protect women against violence, especially domestic violence, as recommended by the Human Rights Committee in its concluding observations adopted on 30 October 2007. The Committee is further concerned at the confinement of women and girls who have not been convicted in so-called social rehabilitation facilities, some of whom are victims of gender-based violence and domestic violence, for their own protection according to the State party, without the provision of a possibility to challenge this confinement in a court. The Committee is also concerned at the widespread practice whereby marriage between perpetrators of rape and women victims of rape is encouraged to protect the victims from social stigma and marginalisation and ensure clarity of lineage if the victim is pregnant, which results in impunity for the perpetrator. The Committee is of the view that marriage between perpetrators of rape and the victim can lead to revictimisation of the victim. The Committee expresses concern about the lack of statistics provided in the report on the extent of different forms of violence against women and girls. The Committee is also concerned that the maintenance of Law No. 70 (1973) criminalising extramarital sexual relations may have a disproportionate impact on women.

  The Committee urges the State party to:

  (a) Implement the recommendations identified in the study of the Secretary-General on all forms of violence against women (A/61/122 and Add.1 and Add.1/Corr.1) and in the report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences (A/HRC/4/34/Add.1) and to monitor their impact.

  (b) Enact legislation on violence against women, including domestic violence.

  (c) Adopt and implement a national strategy to combat violence against women, which would include the collection of sex-disaggregated data on all forms of violence and research into the extent of violence against women and girls, including that which occurs in the domestic sphere.

  (d) Reconsider and amend the legal provisions which allow the confinement of women and girls in so-called rehabilitation facilities against their will.

  (e) Discourage the practice whereby victims of rape are forced to marry the perpetrator and to ensure that in all cases perpetrators are duly prosecuted and punished, and victims rehabilitated.

  (f) Offer training and awareness-raising programmes to judicial personnel, law enforcement officials, members of the legal and health professions and the general public, taking into account its general recommendation No. 19 on violence against women.

  (g) Make use of the multi-year campaign launched in 2008 to eliminate violence against women.

  (h) Consider repealing Law No. 70 (1973). (Paragraphs 23 and 24)

• Vulnerable groups of women: While noting with satisfaction that the State party ratified the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families in 2004, the Committee expresses concern at reports regarding the alleged ill-treatment of undocumented migrants, including women and children. The Committee is also concerned that the State party's reports do not contain information on the situation of migrant women in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya.

  The Committee recommends that the State party:

  (a) Implement the provisions of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.

  (b) Consider ratifying the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees.

  (c) Provide detailed information on the situation of migrant women in its next periodic report. (Paragraphs 25 and 26)

• Trafficking and exploitation of prostitution: The Committee welcomes the State party's ratification of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children. While noting that the Penal Code criminalises all forms of trafficking in women, and that Libyan nationals shall be sentenced even if the crime was committed abroad, the Committee expresses concern about the lack of information regarding the extent of trafficking in women and girls and the absence of a comprehensive law and plan to prevent and eliminate trafficking in women and to protect victims. The Committee is also concerned about the lack of information in regard to prostitution and the lack of a comprehensive strategy for the protection and rehabilitation of victims of exploitation of prostitution.

  The Committee recommends that the State party:

  (a) Take measures to combat all forms of trafficking in women and girls through the adoption and implementation of a comprehensive strategy, and increase its efforts in relation to regional, international and bilateral cooperation with countries of origin and transit so as to address more effectively the causes of trafficking and improve its prevention through information exchange.

  (b) Collect and analyse data from national police and international sources, prosecute and punish traffickers, and ensure protection of the rights of trafficked women and girls.

  (c) Take measures to ensure that trafficked women and girls receive adequate support and protection to support them in testifying against their traffickers.

  (d) Analyse the causes and extent of trafficking in women and girls from its perspective as a country of transit.

  (e) Take all appropriate measures to suppress the exploitation of prostitution of women, including discouraging male demand by ensuring the effective prosecution and punishment of those who exploit prostitution.

  (f) Provide, in its next report, comprehensive information and data on exploitation of prostitution and trafficking in women and girls, as well as on the measures taken to prevent and combat such activities. (Paragraphs 27 and 28)

• Education: While commending the State party on the high percentage of female graduates, the Committee regrets that the State party's reports do not provide sufficient information with respect to the access of women to education, both in rural and urban areas, concerning all areas addressed by article 10 of the Convention.

  The Committee urges the State party to:

  (a) Include, in its next periodic report, data disaggregated by sex and urban and rural areas on all issues addressed by article 10 of the Convention, including women's and girls' access to vocational training, access to studies in the primary, secondary, technical and tertiary education, access to scholarships and other study grants and access to programmes of continuing education, as well as statistics on student dropout rates. (Paragraphs 31 and 32)

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UN Committee against Torture

(CAT/C/LBY/CO)

Last Reported: 5, 6, and 10 May 1999
Concluding Observations adopted:

There is no mention of children's rights in this report

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UN Committee on Migrant Workers

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UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

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UN Committee on Enforced Disappearance

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